


Evergreen

by atomtom



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Polyamory, Silent Rhys, Slow Burn, Tales from the Borderlands, dryad!au, gayperion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-18
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2018-12-31 01:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12121458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atomtom/pseuds/atomtom
Summary: Vaughn's new house has a bit of mystery to it.  Teaming up with his neighbor and (obligatory) friend Timothy he tries to uncover just what is going on.





	1. Hi Neighbor

The gravel littering the road crunched under the red pickup truck's tires as Vaughn pulled up into the driveway of his new house.  Moving out of the city would be good for him, at least that's what he was told by his therapist.   


_ Maybe you should work from home for a little bit or eliminate stress, get out in nature _ ect. ect...   


Looking up at the place he was starting to think dropping everything to live in the alpine woods was not such a great idea.   


It was a real fixer-upper- he knew that much going in, that's why the place was so cheap- but it was even worse in person. This shabby little cabin looked like it hadn't been lived in for ages; the wood was rotting in a few places, dust and cobwebs coated every crack, and worst of all there was a faint smell of mildew that permeated the air around it.  Vaughn hadn't even stepped foot inside and he was  already dreading the thought of making this house livable again.   


"Hi neighbor!"   


Vaughn jumped, startled at the voice seemingly coming out of the woodwork.  He turned his attention to the house next door; a similar looking cabin lodge, but decidedly cleaner.  Looking back at him over the side railing was a friendly looking man about his age- lanky, freckled, and sporting well groomed coifs of reddish brown hair.   


"Hi..." Vaughn nervously waved back at him.   


The man walked to the front of the house and unlatched the small gate to come around over to him.  Admittedly Vaughn was a little unprepared, he hadn't expected to meet neighbors so soon and it was harder to not appear apprehensive.   


"I'm...I'm Timothy, er, Tim," he said it like he was unsure, holding out his hand for Vaughn to shake. Perhaps they were in the same boat.   


"Vaughn," he replied, taking up Tim's hand. "So uh, what's the deal with this house?" He felt obligated to engage in some small talk.   


"Well, it hasn't been lived in for a couple years so...y'know..." Tim trailed off.   


"Right," Vaughn laughed awkwardly. "You'd think it was haunted," he joked.   


Tim's smile dropped, "Well..."   


"Wait, you're not serious are you?"   


"No... no of course not but like, the dude who used to live here was kind of weird."

Vaughn was starting to think Tim was a bit weird himself.   


"Really?" Vaughn pressed Timothy for answers, he wanted to know what he was getting himself into.   


"I mean yeah, old Shade was a nice guy- a little eccentric but he meant well-"   


"Yeah?" Vaughn was anticipating some kind of murder story or suicide note- not anything good.   


"Well he said he saw ghosts in the forest out back. Drove him nuts while he was trying to sleep so he moved back down to like, Palm Springs or something."   


"Oh," Vaughn laughed. Was that all?   


"I'd believe him."   


Vaughn felt his eyebrows furrow in an uncomfortable knot.   


"No, really! There's something about these woods that's a little... I don't wanna say spooky, but it's kinda mysterious."   


"Yeah... I uh, I feel that."   


He really didn't.   


"Well, I should really get unpacking," Vaughn quickly darted a glance to the boxes in his truck bed.   


"Oh 'course! Nice meeting you," Tim waved, going back through the gate and latching it, "And remember, if you see anything tell me ok?"   


"I'll be on the lookout," Vaughn nodded his head and played along while unloading one of the cardboard boxes.  He tracked Tim as he walked out of view back into his house.  What an odd guy.   


Vaughn set the box at the doorstep and wrestled with the lock for a few seconds before being able to open the door. It was like entering a crypt- just swinging the door ajar threw so many particles into the air that breathing was difficult.  Vaughn was sure by the end of his tour his lungs would be coated in so much dust he could be classified as a vacuum cleaner. He picked up his box and stepped in.    
It wasn't so bad, he supposed from surveying the landscape.  He had a nice small kitchen to the right of him with a wood countertop, a living room with a sliding glass door to the back deck, and a couch. The left side led to a hall with a couple rooms which he assumed would be the bedroom and the bathroom.  He figured he should first bring the few boxes he had inside and get situated before exploring.  


After stacking everything up in a pile in the living room, he thought it wise to check if the appliances in the kitchen were working. Cranking the knobs of the stove he found all but the back left burner worked.  A quick test proved that the dishwasher was also in working order so that was a bonus.  He moved onto the living room couch.   


It appeared clean enough; a very pillowy, dark brown corduroy upholstered the cushions.  He was told a couple articles of furniture would be included with the house, which was nice because Vaughn didn't have to ship everything from his apartment up to the mountains.  There was a metallic creak in the frame when he pressed down on the seat which was slightly alarming before he realized what it must've been.    


Vaughn removed the cushions and, as expected, there were hinges around the inner bottom of the couch. He tugged upwards and the fold-out mattress came cascading forwards.  Patting it flat, Vaughn sneezed hard as more dust entered the air.  At least this would come in handy if anyone ever wanted to visit.  He decided to lie back on the mattress just to rest for a little while.  

  
Staring up at the popcorn ceiling he thought he might have something in his eye with all the motes floating around because there was a line of _something_ crossing his vision.  Now that he looked a bit closer it appeared to be...pulsing.  No, his vision was quite focused and there were in fact little _things_ making their  way through the air.    


He stood up on the couch- they were too high for him to reach otherwise- to inspect just what they were. At first he thought they were some kind of bug but that didn't seem quite right.  They looked like they were walking through the air.  Whatever the creatures were, they were wishbone shaped, the prongs making small strides in a procession that led out through the glass door from what he could tell.  A soft, eerie ambient glow came off of them.   


Vaughn swatted at one of them, which to his surprise did nothing to interrupt the little marchers.  His hand passed straight through them.  It was baffling, Vaughn tried again and still nothing.     


"Okay, that's...unnerving," he climbed down onto the floor.  Admittedly he didn't know much about the outdoors, for all he knew this could have been some kind of woodsy phenomenon.     


_ Fungus maybe? _ he thought.   


His eyes followed the trail out to the deck.  It probably wasn't the smartest idea, but his visitors were harmless...at the moment, so he decided to follow them.     


He jerked open the glass sliding door and poked his head into the misty air.  The pale floaters had made a beeline for the woods behind the house.  Vaughn stepped onto the planks of the deck, feeling it creak beneath his feet.  He made his way to the back gate, unlocking it. A couple fragmented concrete steps bridged the gap between the house and the forest floor.     


Vaughn took a deep breath and crossed over into the wilderness.  The trail didn't go very far, but even so the area felt much foggier than back at the house. After a few steps, the wishbones abruptly stopped being a line and congregated around the trunk of a large pine, lazily circling it in rings.   


He came closer. The tree didn't have anything remarkable about it, he wondered why these things were so attracted. Vaughn was about to inspect the backside before something stopped him.  
He drew back a small gasp, retreating back behind the tree trunk.  In the clearing just a few feet beyond was a person kneeled in the underbrush- it caught Vaughn off guard. He peeked out again.  
The person had their head hanging, their hands gently brushing over the earth. Their body was draped in a heavy, green robe matted and tangled in plant matter.  They looked preoccupied with what they were doing; a few moments later they raised their head with their palms cupped near their lips.  


Vaughn's jaw dropped slightly.  This person appeared to be a man, and was ethereally beautiful; his sheet white skin was tinged with undertones of green and gave off a soft glow, haphazard chestnut curls framed his long face.  He blew into his hands and from them scattered more of those wishbone-like creatures.   


_ This must be the ghost they were talking about _ Vaughn though, exhaling sharply.   


It was too loud.  The man quickly snapped his attention to Vaughn with a wide-eyed stare.   


_ Oh god what do I do, do I talk to him? Tim said they were harmless right?  Or did he imply they were harmless? _ Vaughn's mind was reeling. He finally settled on saying something.   


"Uh, hi...neighbor?"  he choked out, sheepishly waving his fingers. Now he knew how Tim must've felt.   


No response.    


"I, um, I just moved into that house over there," he pointed backwards in the direction of the deck. Looking that way he realized the fog had pretty much obscured everything from view past five feet in front of him.   


"Y-you can't see it right now but it's there." He tried sounding as casual as he could; he didn't want to piss off a spirit his first day moving in and end up haunted for the rest of his time here.    
It didn't seem to matter though, he was still met with the same deer-in-the-headlights stare.  


"Um..." Vaughn stepped out from behind the tree. He hadn't noticed he was shaking violently. He stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak, but no sooner was he cut off by a howling whirlwind. Vaughn's heels shifted, digging into the brush in an effort to stay upright- through his raised arms he saw the wraith-like form of the ghost rise, his body rushing toward the human at high speed.  
He found those large, fearful eyes only inches from his face, stumbling back onto the ground and feeling a creeping chill in his veins as the creature passed through him.  


Vaughn's hands had been covering his face, guarding him from anything horrific he might see.  His labored breathing came out in heavy puffs, his fingers cautiously fanned to let him see through them  then immediately shuttered again in nervousness.     


He took a couple solid breaths. In his head he took a count:   


"Okay, one. Two. Three-"   


He jerked his hands from his face and forced himself to look at his surroundings.   


It was quiet.   


Admittedly Vaughn was disoriented, the shift in scenery was so drastic.  The fog had immediately cleared and he was left in a normal, dark forest.  He pushed himself up, feeling silly when he was skittish to sound of dead leaves moving around beneath him as he shifted.  He could see the house in clear view, bathed in the blue of nighttime.   


Nighttime? No that couldn't be right he thought.  He'd gotten here in the afternoon, he couldn't have gone exploring for more that a few minutes- an hour maybe? Vaughn found that he was bargaining with himself, trying to piece together the missing time.  He didn't want to stay in the house with this strange anomaly around it, but he didn't have much choice other than sleeping in the car or driving half an hour to the nearest hotel.  He would have to deal with it.   


Having to use his whole body in opening the finicky sliding door again, he groaned in frustration stepping into the living room.  His eyes had settled on the pile belongings he had lazily stacked earlier- he hadn't even set up his bed.  Truth be told it wasn't more than a roll out mattress and a couple sheets, but that experience left him so strangely exhausted he wanted nothing to do with it.  
Begrudgingly he hefted the tightly wound bed roll from the pile and dragged it to the bedroom.  As expected, it was fairly large- perhaps it looked larger with nothing in it but a dresser- but there was a feature that was troubling him.  


In here was another sliding glass door with a straight view into the woods.  Vaughn ripped off the plastic wrap of the mattress and tried not to think of what might visit him in his sleep as he put it together.  The best he could really do was draw the blinds and hopefully ignore what he saw today.   


As he lied down, he blearily stared up at the ceiling again, a fuzzy, glowing procession crossed his vision. Nodding off he began to understand what the former tenant had meant by the ghosts keeping him up.


	2. Second Impressions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After getting spooked by the ghost in the woods, Vaughn enlists Timothy's help.

When Vaughn woke again he felt groggy.  From a quick glance outside he'd say he must've slept in pretty late because the sky was already quite bright with the hot sun hitting his face through the window.  He had to blink a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes, shading them with the palm of his hand when he sat up.   


It looked like those things from last night were gone; he couldn't find any trace of them checking the ceiling and under the mattress.  He stepped up close to the glass of the window and took a look out into the forest.  It was a lot less foreboding than the previous day- certainly no fog.  The sunlight showed clear through the leaves making everything tinged with warm yellows and verdant greens.  As inviting as it was he wasn't about to go out there again without a little knowledge of what he was getting into.   
  


What was his neighbor's name again? Jim? Tim? Timothy? He was pretty sure it was Timothy.  With all the commotion that hadn't been the thing that stuck the most in his brain.     
  


Vaughn figured he should pay him a visit since he was more than a little bit out of his element. But first, he should get cleaned up. He smacked his mouth a few times realizing he was so exhausted last night he hadn’t bothered brushing his teeth;  he tried getting the unpleasant stale taste off of his tongue.  Before leaving he wanted to squeeze a shower in too, already the humidity was feeling a bit too sticky for comfort as midday approached.   
  


He walked into the living room and over to his pile of boxes.  After rummaging around for a few minutes he found the box he was looking for near the bottom; the blue painter's tape stuck to the side was labelled 'bathroom' in permanent marker.  It took some effort to pull out, but he managed to do it without knocking over anything else.  From it he fished out a small, clear plastic bag containing his toothpaste and toothbrush, then he made sure to also grab his shampoo and a towel.   
  


Stepping onto the oddly bumpy texture of the tiny bathroom tiles, Vaughn received a shock through the soles of his feet that almost made him drop everything. The floor was so cold- he guessed in the mountains his house wouldn't always be universally tepid- he touched to tips of his toes to the ground a few times to make sure he was used to the temperature before stepping in again. 

 

That was another thing he probably should've grabbed: bath rugs.   


Looking around it was pretty clean, save for some more dust and water stains here and there, nothing he didn't think was fixable.  The wall and cabinet mirrors were a bit grimy, but he was in a hurry so it wasn't like he could really complain about not seeing himself brush his own teeth.    


He set everything down on top of the toilet.  It probably wasn't a smart idea to get in the shower before checking the water first, so he turned the faucet on.  A sputter, then a gush of reddish brown water flooded out of the shower head- he figured the pipes must be rusted over.  

It should wash out soon he thought, so he'd wait it out and brush his teeth in the meantime.    


The mirror started to fog up and the water started to run clear, a sign it was time to strip down.  Once he was in the shower for a while, lathering up his hair, he started to wonder if going over was a good idea.  Wouldn't he sound just a little delusional coming to the house of basically a complete stranger and going off about spirits or something? Even if Tim was somewhat eccentric and willing to oblige him, Vaughn didn't think he was the most serious yesterday.  

 

Maybe he just had some kind of stress induced fever dream out there.   


He finished washing off and wrapped the towel around him.  It probably was nothing, just a lot of nerves he told himself.  Vaughn needed to fetch his clothes out of his suitcase in the living room, though he was still debating wether to go next door.     


While rustling around trying to pick an outfit, he stopped abruptly what he was doing. He increasingly had the feeling of being watched; Vaughn poked his head up above the couch to look out the window. Just beyond the first layer of trees he saw movement.  It was brief, but there was a recognizable scuttle amongst the leaves as whatever was back there retreated farther into the forest.   


He quickly ducked back down behind the couch; there was certainly  _ something _ in the woods, be it animal or supernatural.  In any case, it made him want to be somewhere else so he guessed that was the deciding factor in getting out of the house today.  He threw some clothes on together right there and slipped his shoes on without untying and re-tying the laces.  The house looked like it could take care of itself unlocked, Vaughn didn't waste any time going to look for the keys.     


He shuffled up to Timothy's door.  There looked like there was movement behind the frosted glass, he knocked twice on the wood.  The door swung open slightly with a creak, Tim's sharp nose appearing in the crack.  Vaughn leaned his head in a little closer.   


"He-hello?" he made a tiny wave.  Vaughn stumbled back a couple steps as the door suddenly fully opened.     


"Uh, hey," Tim's awkward smile was lopsided, it was apparent he hadn't prepared for company, 

 

"What're...what're you doing? Here, I mean. What're you doing here?"   


"I...uh, how do I say this..." Vaughn found himself mumbling, "I  _ think _ I saw something in the woods last night."   


"Whoa really?" Tim's voice squeaked in audible excitement.    


"Don't get too excited, it could've been a gas leak or something," Vaughn hastily replied.   


"Aw come on," he rolled his eyes, but he was ecstatic, "You can't just drop that on someone and take it back like that! Just tell me what happened."   


"Okay, okay, just...just don't sound disappointed, it wasn't like the kind of ghost people usually talk about."   


"Well, what do you mean?" Tim cocked his head, interested.   


"I dunno, he didn't look dead or anything, but... I mean he didn't look like a regular person."   


"Yeah, but what  _ happened _ ?" he needed Vaughn to speed this up.   


"Okay, so, there were these bug- things- in my house and I thought it would be a good idea to follow them outside," Vaughn explained," I ended up in the forest in my backyard, but it was weirdly foggy.  Then I saw him sitting around with those bugs, and he was...um...really pretty is the best way I can put it I guess- but he kinda freaked out when he saw me and disappeared. When I got back home it was nighttime even though I thought I only took maybe five minutes."   


Timothy was silent for a moment with a perplexed look on his face, Vaughn started to think he didn't believe him.   


Finally he raised his eyebrows and said, "Sound's like you had an encounter with the fae."   


"The  _ what _ ?"   


"The fae. You know, like fairies."   


Vaughn was incredulous, "You're joking,right?" Ghosts he could deal with, but fairies seemed a bit ridiculous.   


"No," was the short reply, "come with me." Tim waved his hand to motion him to come inside.   


They walked through a rather narrow front hall despite the floor plan being the same as Vaughn's house.  Most of the space was taken up by a wide bookshelf containing a large assortment of thrift store paperback novels and manila folders strewn throughout it.  Vaughn saw the series of shelves continued to wrap around the wall.  The living room was even more disorderly;  piles of computer paper stapled into packets surrounded a small couch,  the desk along the right side of the room was in a similar state.  The walls around the desk were also coated with a layer of paper that made what was underneath hardly visible, pinned with a wealth of drawings, post its, and paper scraps.    


"Sorry it's such a mess," Tim said, stepping over some stray sheets,"I've been kinda busy lately."   


Vaughn had to admit this was all a bit overwhelming, he had to take some time to himself to figure out what exactly was going on in this house.   


"Uh huh...what do you...do exactly?" from what he could gather his best guess was professional conspiracy theorist but he doubted commenting about it would be appreciated.     


"I'm a writer," Timothy beamed, going over to his desk and shuffling some of the many books on it around.   


That explained a lot, but from checking out his bookcase Vaughn couldn't exactly pigeonhole what he might write for.  This house had everything from pulp horror to scientific periodicals.  He picked up a book with a cracked cover titled "The Complete Guide 19th Century Shipbuilding" and flipped through it.   


Finally Vaughn asked,"Oh, uh, what for?"   


"Well..." Timothy was crouched under the desk now, running his fingers along the titles on the spines of a book stack."I dabble in a lot of genres but most often," he grunted, lifting up most of the pile and putting it aside to get to what he was looking for near the bottom,"children's adventure stories."   


"Really?" Vaughn was genuinely interested, returning the rather technical shipbuilding book back to its place with the others, albeit in a slightly neater arrangement. "Anything people usually know?"   


Tim backed up out from under the table and blew dust off the cover, "Ever heard of Handsome Jack?"   


"You're...you're joking.  _ You're _ Handsome Jack?" Vaughn practically felt his eyes light up as a grin snuck its way onto his face, "I loved those books as a kid! Mayhem in Morocco, The Paris Agenda-"   


Tim let out a shy little laugh paired with a shrug, "I only ghostwrite for him in the new series. The original Handsome Jack's been dead for ages now."     


"Oh, well, yeah huh? That would've made you like, eighty years old," he felt childish getting so excited like that, "But still, that's pretty cool."    


Tim walked over with the book under his arm, "Don't sweat it, it was a pretty big part of my childhood too. If you ever wanna walk down memory lane I got the whole canon here." He nodded his head over towards the end of the shelf where a long series of thin paperbacks filled it up, 132 to be exact.   


"Wow...thanks," Vaughn didn't really know how to respond, the thought of having access to all of them was exciting.  His school library growing up only ever had about fifteen to twenty, and he owned even fewer.   


Timothy scratched the back of his head, "Anyway, before we got sidetracked this is what I wanted to show you." He presented a rather hefty reference book to Vaughn, who took it in both hands.   


"Monsters and Myths of the World?" Vaughn read the embossed gilded title out loud.   


"Figured this might be your best chance at finding out what you've got, but," Tim emphasized what he was about to say, "A few general rules about dealing with the fae I've learned are don't eat anything they give you- actually just don't take any gifts period.  It gives them leverage for you to become indebted to them or you might get trapped in their realm forever."   


Vaughn flinched.   


"Secondly," Tim listed these off on his fingers as he went on, "don't go looking for them after dark, you'll get disoriented and probably end up dead in a bog peat somewhere.  Third, if something looks kinda... y'know iffy, it's usually somewhere they hang out so don't trespass around it."   


Vaughn felt a knot in the back of his throat, this stuff all sounded pretty high stakes, "A lot of "don'ts" there..."    


Tim shrugged, "Most of it might be superstition, but better safe than sorry right?"   


"Yeah..." Vaughn turned the book over in his hands, "I'll look through this at home. Thanks... again."   


"Good luck!" Tim waved him off as Vaughn went out the door and back to his house clutching the precious information to his chest.   


Walking into his own place again after being in such a lively house, Vaughn thought it felt cold with all its emptiness and dim lightning.  He decided it would put him more at ease unpacking at least a little bit.  There were a couple small, disassembled wooden shelf stands he took a few minutes to put together so he could place them by the ends of the couch.  He also took the effort to unbox his one lamp; when he bought it for his old apartment where it was much more compacted, its cute, round shape made the atmosphere cozier.  Here where the space was a lot more distributed it seemed ridiculous to just have one lamp to fill the room, but it still made Vaughn feel safer, like an old friend.   


He curled up into the corner of the cushions by the halo of warm light coming off the bulb and cracked the book open.  First, he located the section labelled under the letter "G" and flipped through until the article for "ghost" came up.  Timothy wasn't kidding when he said this was a valuable resource; the information was scholarly compiled with references to historical and contemporary texts so he got to look through quite a few accounts.  After reading up on spectral phenomena he had to agree his neighbor was right in thinking what he had on his hands wasn't exactly a ghost, but he still wanted to keep the possibility in mind.   


Without getting up he scooted over a cardboard box labelled "office" using his foot.  In it he found a loose spiral notepad and he ripped a page out. Before he moved on he made sure to bookmark his spot with the scrap of paper.   


Tim said the fae were at work, so Vaughn skipped to the back to the index.  Fae...fairies...there was a surprisingly wide variety of them- he didn't know if he'd be able to get through the whole list.  At least he was familiar with some of them, he wouldn't look through those, he started going through the ones he didn't recognize.   


Changeling? No, Vaughn didn't think that guy was a child. Nymph? There wasn't a body of water around. Dryad?   


He flipped over to section "D" and began reading.  This one seemed promising, according to the entry it was "a nature spirit bound to a tree known for their secretive and reclusive qualities".   Vaughn made a quick turn of his head to glance back at the forest.   


He remembered that tree all those little...spirits he supposed, were clustered around.  He continued on; the good news was was dryads were generally peaceful, and they couldn't stray too far from their home even if they wanted to so there wasn't any danger of him getting hurt in his house.  The dryad probably spooked him because Vaughn was too close to his tree and was just protecting it.   


"Huh..." Vaughn mumbled to himself. He took another paper scrap and marked his place, shutting the book with a hefty thump afterwards.  They definitely didn't get off to the best start did they?  For a while he sat there, thinking about how he might make it up to this person who's house he basically broke into.  Maybe it wasn't the best idea to go out there again so soon, but Vaughn wanted to at least let him know he was apologetic.   


His eyes fell on the notepad.  Dryads were literate- they must be the book said they were involved in poetry and literature.  Picking it up along with some tape and a pen he slid open the glass door and took them up to the gate.  On it he scrawled in chunky black letters just one word and taped it to a post on the other side. He hoped it wouldn't get lost in translation, all it read was "sorry".


	3. Strange Fates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timothy takes Vaughn on an unexpected trip.

It'd been about a week since Vaughn left his note outside and there wasn't any sign it had been touched by anyone but him.   He didn't know whether to take that as a good or bad sign, if he had an angry spirit in his backyard he couldn't tell.   After he got home from his new job at the local accounting firm, he went outside to do another daily check.  
     

By now he had truly set everything up-the coffee table, his desk, the filing cabinets- and even bought some new furniture in town to christen his house.  He was now the proud owner of a proper mattress and bed frame and a couple spiffy high legged chairs for his countertop partition.  All the boxes were neatly folded and stacked by the back door, he had to push them over a bit to get to the handle.  
       

He looked through the glass as he was pulling the slider back, already eager to see if his attempt had been successful today.  The gate looked slightly ajar-someone must've come by and unlocked it.  Vaughn practically ran over in excitement, leaning over the railing to inspect the outside of the posts.  The slip of paper was gone along with the tape,  Vaughn went around to the other side and crouched down to make sure it hadn't fallen under the deck or blown away somewhere nearby.  
     

Running his fingers over the post it was still tacky with a bit of residual glue, so he didn't think it was likely the note just fell off.  While he was down on his knees he found something odd; hidden behind the concrete steps in the shadow of the porch planks a glimmer of silver caught his eye.  He reached for the thin band, surprised when his hand also clasped around something else the thing was apparently wrapped around.    
     

Drawing his arm back he found himself holding onto a small bundle of flowers.  It looked like there were two types in the mix, one a brightly saturated yellow that was somewhat star shaped with a darker orange bell in the middle, and some smaller, more delicate looking purple ones with two rows of petals.  The shiny ring he saw was a kind of thin string of finely woven, opalescent threads tied neatly into a bow.  
     

Vaughn didn't know if he had any right to take this-after all one of the general rules he was given was not to accept gifts from fairies-but dryads were supposedly peaceful.  He'd been doing some extra research in the past few days and decided it was best to at least take the offering onto the porch and put it in a vase of water so as not to offend this spirit. Anyway, Vaughn thought since the dryad took the note there was an equal exchange going on that protected him from any magical funny business.  
       

Just to be safe, once he crossed the gate to get back up to the deck he left the flowers next to the doormat outside before stepping into the house. The best he could really do was use a tall glass, he didn't actually have any vases on hand but he thought the sentiment of reconciliation would still come across.   After a quick run under the faucet to fill it with water he went back outside and picked up the bundle.  
       

He decided to set the glass down on the railing where it would be visible.  With a light tug on one of the bow ends he was easily able to slip the string binding off the stems and arrange them in an aesthetically pleasing manner, making sure the colors were varied through the bouquet and that they looked fuller in his makeshift vase.  
       

Picking the string back up, he took some time to really inspect it.  It wasn't like any material he had ever seen; the way it caught the light suggested it was translucent, but it also had a shimmering quality about it.  Because of how thin it was Vaughn thought it might be some kind of hair.  In any case, he didn't think he should throw it away-it certainly felt like there was something special about it.  He carefully he tied it around his wrist to make sure he wouldn't lose it, then went around the house to his neighbor's.  
       

That was another thing he'd made a habit of, giving Timothy updates on his situation.  He had to admire the man's extreme optimism despite nothing turning up for a week.  It must've been contagious because Vaughn was giddy with excitement when he knocked on the door- the news was a lot to keep in.  He bounced on his toes expectantly waiting for the door to open.  
         

"I found something!" Vaughn hadn't even fully seen Tim in the entryway yet as the door swung open.  
      

"Woa-ho, really?" Timothy's voice was mixed with nervous laughter.  There was still a smile on his face but his eyes appeared conflicted, like he was focused on something else.  
      

"Yeah," Vaughn's voice dropped in enthusiasm,"Is there...is there something wrong."  
       

"It's just," Tim looked guiltily to the side,"I wanna see it-I really do-but I gotta meet with my illustrator soon.  I'm really sorry I can't do it right now."  
      

"Oh. No, that's fine it's not going anywhere, I mean if you've got stuff to do that's cool," he tried not to sound dejected, but it was hard when  this was the most excitement he had in his life for a while.  
       

Tim let out a long sigh and fidgeted with his hair a few moments.  
       

"Y'know... I could, well maybe, take you with me," the corner of Tim's mouth cracked a shy smile as he offered. "And-And I _promise_  I'll come over when we get back!"  
       

"Really? You sure that's okay? I don't wanna be a nuisance if you're working-"  
      

"Nah come on, it's just up the street." Tim stepped out and locked the door, "It's not formal or anything, we've known each other a long time and we're friends."  
      

He gently took Vaughn's shoulders into his hands and flipped him around to point him in the direction of the car.  Clearly Tim was set on bringing him, so Vaughn marched on forward without complaining.  
     

The car wasn't anything special; it was an older model painted the most neutral beige imaginable, the detailing done in silver chrome that had started dulling over the years.  Surprisingly the outside was still very well maintained, with only a few nicks around the back wheels presumably from pebbles that bounced off the mountain roads.  When he went around to the right side and sat down, he found the interior to be similarly bland, save for a small lucky cat bell charm wrapped around the rear view mirror that gave the car some personality.  
       

Vaughn buckled in his seatbelt, looking down at his wrist while he was at it to make sure his string was still tied there.  As he waited for Tim to get situated into the driver's seat he anxiously rolled the band between his thumb and forefinger, shooting Tim a quick glance when he seemed ready.    
     

"Okay," Tim started the car, he had gained a new invigoration from having a plan to follow,"We'll drop in, say hi, give Janey my pages, and go."  
      

Vaughn nodded in agreement even though he knew that was probably more of a mental note.  Tim firmly planted his palms on ten and two of the steering wheel and drew in a long breath as he pulled out of the front of his house.  Only after he shifted the car into drive did he allow himself to breathe again.    
       

They went up the road for a few minutes before Vaughn asked him,"So...how far is it to this place?"  
        

"Just like ten minutes maybe. She lives closer to town."  
        

Ten minutes was still pretty far when there was never anyone on the road, Vaughn thought.    
        

Tim noticed the ride had been silent up until now.  He didn't have a radio-not that it would've worked that well this high up anyway-and tried to make his guest feel more at ease by continuing the conversation.  
     

"Y'know, I think Janey's gonna like you."  
      

"Why's that?" Vaughn's eyes broke from their fixation on the reflection in the side mirror and refocused on the driver.  
      

Tim made a shy little shrug,"I may have slipped some things about you last time I saw her."    
      

Vaughn's face paled a bit, not that he had anything to hide, it just made him anxious being talked about.  
     

"Not much just that you were nice," Timothy quickly tacked on, feeling his face get slightly hot.  
      

They came up on a wide turn. When they rounded the other side the mountains parted open into a view of a deep valley, the town settled on one side and a lake positioned on the other. The road continued down in a winding fashion, hugging the land.  Around the edge of town Vaughn started to see small residencies popping out of the rock here and there like colorful outcroppings in the landscape.  
     

He passed them every day on his way to work but hadn't ever gotten a really good look at them until now.  From what he could tell they were mostly smooth plank, save for some stone accents, and painted in darker desaturated primaries.  Not too showy, but quaint enough to catch the eye and welcome someone to the town.    
      

The house they pulled up to was a bit more...quirky, he thought for a lack of a better word.  He wasn't sure how he missed it before, it was certainly unique.  It was built using the same model as the other homes, but each face appeared to be a different color, even straying away from the standard color palette and using bright pinks and greens and teals.  More curious Vaughn thought were the piles of junk sidelining the driveway and wrapping up around the back of the house.  When he got out of the car he stood inspecting it for a bit, arms crossed.  He couldn't imagine what this person might use it for or where she got it all from.  A lot of it looked like car parts but there were assorted beams and factory machinery thrown in too.  
     

"Hey, come on!" Timothy jerked his head toward the tiny lavender porch that only spanned about a third of the house.  Vaughn supposed he had stared too long.  
     

Tentatively he followed Tim up to the door.  The front porch was similarly interesting; small metalwork decorations of varying quality were pinned to the wood.  Vaughn reach up with a curious hand to touch what looked like a painstakingly crafted hummingbird wind chime made from scrap metal before he was abruptly interrupted.  
      

"I wouldn't do that," Tim said to him as he pressed the doorbell, "Janey can get a little...very protective over the things she makes."  
      

"Oh, sorry," Vaughn winced and yanked his fingertips away, he should have figured he could look but not touch. His attention shifted to the square mailbox hanging by the door, which looked comparatively crude with multiple large weld lines sticking out.  Bolted on it was a flimsy looking "J&A" giving him the impression someone else also lived here. "So does she do this professionally or...?"  
     

Tim shook his head,"It's more like a hobby that got out of hand, which is impressive considering how much she has.  I think she just gets bored sometimes it's-"  
      

He was cut off by the lock unlatching and the door swinging open.  
     

"Talking about me are you?" Janey's voice chided.  She had a prominent Australian accent, which took Vaughn by surprise.  
    

Her hair was a was sandy blonde, styled in an undercut with long bangs parted at the middle. A headband that advertised the logo of some place called "Scooter's" kept the hair out of her face.  Her outfit, which were some cargo pants and a tanktop-unusual since the autumn weather was getting chilly-showed off her impressively muscular arms and more than a couple nasty looking scars. Vaughn really hoped they didn't just get on her bad side.  
      

"No!" Tim was panicked trying to find the words for his reply,"I was just telling Vaughn what you do, right?"  
      

"Hey don't drag me into this!" Vaughn was half joking.  
       

The two men glanced back at each other nervously.  Janey maintained her irritated expression for a moment before she broke out into a snicker with a giggle.  
       

"No need to get riled up, I know you're not the type Tim." She stuck her head out of the doorframe further to get a better look at Vaughn, "And you must be his neighbor. I've heard all about you!"  
      

Vaughn shot a self conscious look over to Timothy.  
        

"Nothin' bad though! Actually kinda cute how he talks about you."  
        

Tim hissed trying to shush her but she ignored him.  
        

"Janey Springs," she extended her hand out to Vaughn.  
          

He took it, giving it a firm shake,"Vaughn, but, uh, you knew that huh?" He chuckled.  
          

"Well come on in don't be a stranger," Janey ducked back into the house.  
          

"'Not much', huh?" he said to Tim smugly as he walked in.  
          

"I can't help it sometimes okay? I have anxiety issues and sometimes...sometimes I just start talking and the words don't stop." Tim was clearly embarrassed but no longer in a panicky way.  His rose tinted cheeks framed a sheepish smile.  
       

"I can attest to that," Janey was returning from the living room with a sketchbook,"Don't worry we gossip about you too."  
       

"What?" Tim's voice cracked.  
        

"I'm joking. Kinda.  Tim's a good guy right, honey?" she turned her head to look over at the dining room where a similarly toned woman in workout wear and a dark bob was scrolling through her phone.  
        

"He's better than most," she replied bluntly.  
         

"Aw yeah, forgot to mention my wife Athena's here too." Janey gently pushed Vaughn in Athena's direction, "This is Tim's neighbor."  
       

"I heard," she briefly looked up.  
        

"Why don't you two stay here while me and Tim get some business done," she piped cheerily, "get to know each other!" Janey winked and with that she took Timothy down the hall to her office.  
      

Vaughn was left in an awkward silence with Athena.  After about a minute of him messing with the hem of his sweatshirt while he waited she said, "You can sit."  
      

"Oh, I...okay," he pulled out a chair, trying to drag it across the floor as little as possible so it didn't make too much noise. He quickly sat down.  
      

She still seemed preoccupied; she certainly had one if the best resting "I'll kill you" faces he'd seen in a while.  He hoped maybe she was nicer than she looked-if she was married to someone as chipper as Janey she must be at least kind of amicable. Vaughn thought he should give conversation a try.  
      

"So...your wife seems cool." _God did that sound weird?_ he thought _that's weird but what else do we have to talk about?_ "I saw the stuff outside."  
        

"Yeah?" Athena's eyes were still trained on the screen.  
        

He nodded, "The mailbox is cute."  
        

" _I_ made that," She looked him straight in the face.  
        

"It's still nice," if he had the audacity to run out the door and back to the car he would have, but instead he was sentenced to endure mild discomfort.  
       

"You don't have to lie to me, I know it's bad. I didn't know what I was doing and told Janey she could throw it away..."  
       

"No it's..." Vaughn personally didn't think it was awful. It might not have been the fanciest mailbox but it was functional.  "I think it's sweet you made something for her."  
      

For a second she was scrutinizing his face to make sure he was being genuine.  Finally she clicked the power button at the top of of her phone and set it face down on the table.    
     

"Thanks...I guess she does really like it."  
     

"Yeah! I mean its the first thing people see when they walk up to your house," Vaughn gave her a warm smile, "Sorry if I distracted you from something important."  
     

Athena pursed her lips, "Actually there wasn't anything on my phone I was just trying to avoid talking to you." She glanced to the side, "That...came out wrong."  
      

"Nah I get it," Vaughn rubbed his wrist, remembering the bracelet he made and then twirling that in his fingers,"Talking to people is hard."  
      

"Yeah," the corners of her mouth upturned clumsily, she looked up past him towards Janey and Tim walking back to the table.  
       

"Alrighty, hope you had a nice chat. I know we did," Janey leaned her arms up against the back of Vaughn's chair.  "I think we'll probably see you again sometime, Vaughn. You work around here yeah?"  
       

He nodded,"I'm an accountant down at the Hyperion branch."  
       

"Ripper! Right by Scooter's-that's the mechanic shop I work at," she got off the chair to let Vaughn stand up, "Feel free to drop by if you like.  We're having a deal on snow chains and I know a city slicker like you's gonna need em'." Janey patted Vaughn on the shoulder.  
         

"I'll keep that in mind," he fell in step behind Tim towards the door.  They both waved goodbye to the couple.    
            
         

On the drive home the sun was starting to set, it illuminated the ridge with an orange glow.  
         

Timothy said,"Hey, I know Athena can be kinda...harsh sometimes but she means well."  
        

"She seemed pretty cool to me."  
        

"Whoa really? Most people don't catch on with her until they meet her three or four times."  
         

Vaughn shrugged," Guess we just have something in common.  How'd they meet anyway?"  
         

"Actually I'm not entirely sure," Tim laughed, "How a grumpy personal trainer got with a hyperactive mechanic looks like it had to be written in the stars to me."  
        

"I guess so," Vaughn chuckled, "But they seem happy."  
        

"And they are! It's just funny when you first see them together."  
         

"Well how'd _you_  meet them?"  
         

Tim blew out a puff of air remembering back, "God that was a long time ago, probably like five years? Anyway, we were working on a project together and now we're friends."  
         

"Wow. And you still do books with her? That's cool."  
        

"To be honest with you I haven't done something with her for a publisher since then," Tim blew a raspberry, "Illustrating's not even her main thing so she was just doing a freelance job. "  
        

"So, wait, then what was this for?" Vaughn was confused.  
        

"This trip? It's some personal work we're almost done with and we're gonna try to get it published.  Pretending to be Handsome Jack is fun but it's not me y'know?"  
       

"I gotcha."  
        

Tim flipped on the headlights as it looked like it was getting darker.  They lit up his driveway pulling in.  He put the car into park with a final "whump" and turned off the ignition.  
        

"So what was it you were going to show me?"


	4. If You Give a Fairy Orange Juice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning from their trip to Janey and Athena's house to get illustrations for Timothy's book, Vaughn finds the mysterious creature return to his backyard.

"Okay, so check this out." Vaughn and Tim got out of the car and walked together to Vaughn's front door. 

"I found some flowers under the stairs and they were tied with this," Vaughn held up his wrist to show his neighbor, the band around it gave off a subtle sparkle as it fell against his skine.

"Pretty..." Tim brought Vaughn's arm closer to his face so he could get a better look, "What do you think it means?"

Vaughn shrugged, "That's why I'm bringing you. You're the expert." He unlocked the door and opened it.

"Well I wouldn't say that," he followed Vaughn inside, "I...just..."

Tim slowed behind Vaughn who had stopped in his tracks, eyes fixated on the back door. When Tim's gaze was drawn to the outside, his jaw dropped slightly accompanied by a small gasp.

There by the back railing of the deck there was a tall, pale man more gorgeous than any model—or person for that matter—Tim had ever seen. Their visitor was preoccupied with the flowers sitting in the glass outside, his delicate fingers brushing against the tops of the petals as he played with them. 

“That’s him,” Vaughn whispered under his breath. He was apparently as awe stricken as Tim, they watched the dryad for what felt like too long before moving forward to open the back door.

“You didn’t tell me he was _that_ pretty,” Timothy’s voice wavered a bit, still mesmerized by this creature in front of him.

“Well I didn’t think it was the most important part of the story, but yeah. He is,” Vaughn was keeping his voice low. I looked like the dryad hadn’t noticed them yet and he wanted to keep it that way. He remembered the last terrifying encounter when he scared a supernatural being and he wasn’t in the market to try and relive that again. Besides, Timothy was with him this time and he kind of wanted to make a good impression on him after hyping up his ghost story so much. 

Vaughn was deciding how to approach this situation in the most delicate manner possible. A couple of taps on the glass sliding door ought to get the dryads attention, so he drummed his fingers against the window pane. 

The dryad’s head snapped up. He was looking towards them with the same wide eyed stare from before, Vaughn was afraid he might become skittish again and retreat back into the woods. Slowly, he raised up his hand, making sure not to make any movements that were too sudden and scare him off. With the tiniest motion of his wrist he waved his hand to say hello.

After a few more seconds of intense staring, the dryad slowly blinked and went back to fiddling with his flowers. Apparently that was the signal that it was okay to go outside, at least Vaughn was pretty sure it was. He crouched down to and picked up a length of PVC pipe he had stuck into the door slider to block anyone trying to open it from outside—he found out the locks weren’t the most secure—then he pushed the door open.

“Um...hey, I uh...” he didn’t really know what to say in this situation. He was already awkward enough in a regular conversation, and this was too surreal.

“I’m Vaughn,” he finally managed to blurt out, “And this is Timothy, he lives over there!” Vaughn gestured over to the neighboring house with the pipe, accidentally hitting Tim in the chest in the process.

“Ow! Hey watch where you’re pointing that,” Timothy pushed the pipe away and brushed the sting away with his hand. 

“Sorry! Sorry...” Vaughn quickly pulled the pipe back.

The dryad glanced up at them with a coy smile that was more than amused. 

“So that’s, uh... that’s us,” Vaughn scratched the back of his neck, “I know we got off on the wrong foot and all...what’s your name?”

The dryad mouthed a word that he couldn’t make out. Vaughn squinted his eyes, wondering if he just didn’t hear it, but the creature moved his lips again and nothing came out. Frustrated, the dryad opened his mouth and waved his hand in front of his throat.

“I don’t think he can talk. I mean didn’t you say he was basically a tree?” Tim said, trying to understand what the motions meant.

The dryad pointed to him and began nodding aggressively. 

“Huh. I guess that makes sense...” Vaughn crossed his arms trying to think of a way to solve the problem of communication. “Oh wait!”

He rushed off back into the house and to his desk, frantically pulling open drawers until he found a blank yellow note pad. He fumbled grabbing a pen in one of the cups sitting on top of the desk, almost dropping it before running back outside. Vaughn practically flung himself into the railing offering his office supplies.

“Here! You can write with this,” he scribbled with the pen onto the paper pad to show the dryad.

His eyes brightening in curiosity, the dryad carefully took them. With a delicate hand he wrote out his name for Vaughn.

“Rhys? Is that right?” 

Rhys nodded, a wide smile beaming across his face.

“Well I guess it looks like I have two new neighbors,” Timothy had joined them by the railing, “Or, I guess I should say I’m meeting an old neighbor.”

Rhys let out a small huffing sound that Vaughn recognized as giggling. Rhys wasn’t that scary at all, he thought. In fact, he seemed quite sweet. He looked back at Timothy who was still obviously riding the high of meeting a real life forest spirit.

“I...wow, um, you’re like...kind of amazing,” Timothy laughed nervously, “Sorry, is that awkward?”

Rhys waved his hand, flattered at the compliment. He leaned up against the rail with his arms folded so that he could rest against it. Vaughn had noticed that they had been standing up for more than a while.

“Hey, why don’t you sit up here with us?” He jerked his thumb in the direction of a couple white, plastic deck chairs that were stacked in the corner. He thought the back of his house looked too plain, so over the week he had bought them for cheap at the hardware store. “Here,” he unlatched the gate pushed it open with the pipe he had forgotten he was still holding, “Come on.” He waved his hand towards himself welcoming Rhys in. 

Rhys looked up at him with an excited kind of bewilderment. He’d never been invited anywhere. He took the pen and pad with him then walked over to the gate, taking a stride up the steps and then...stopped. Rhys’s eyes shifted down to his feet, his mouth downturned into an upset pout. He was stuck, bound to the ground. Trying to lift a second foot onto the step only had him struggling and floundering more with each pull. 

With one particularly strong tug, Rhys launched himself forward. Unfortunately this didn’t happen to get him anywhere, however it did end him up sprawled across the stairs annoyed and banging on the planks of the deck with his palms when he found out he couldn’t go any further. 

“Hm,” was the only noise Timothy made as he walked over to the two of them. Perhaps Rhys wasn’t as elegant as he initially thought. Nobody was perfect though, he supposed, and if this was how he was going to be comically disillusioned he was okay with that. He stepped over the now collapsed dryad and helped get him back on his feet by pulling him up.

Rhys, now looking miserable with his face scrunched into a knot, huffed and pulled up the bottom edge of his robe. Vaughn and Timothy could see what he was trying to show them; running across his bare, grass stained feet and wrapping around his ankles were thin hairlike roots that extended into the ground. 

“Aw crap,” Vaughn said, “It must be too far for him.” He shielded his eyes with his hand, then squinted to look toward the forest. The setting sun lit up the trees with an intense orange glow, but through it he could still make out what he remembered to be Rhys’s pine. It must have been about thirty feet away, which made sense. The tree wasn’t one of the biggest, so he wasn’t surprised the roots didn’t reach farther.

Rhys crossed his arms and plopped himself down on the bottom step. Clearly he wasn’t very happy about being on what was essentially magical house arrest. He was just as curious about his neighbors as they were about him.

“Well, we could always sit out here. By the steps I mean,” Timothy took a seat by Rhys and patted the stairs for Vaughn to join them.

“Mmm...yeah,” Vaughn set the PVC pipe against the railing, “If we’re gonna stay out here why don’t I get us some drinks or something.”

He headed back inside to see what he had. Surveying the inside of the fridge it admittedly looked like there wasn’t much. His single lifestyle had already made him frugal buying groceries, and on top of that he hadn’t anticipated having anyone seriously over for a while. But he couldn’t just walk out there empty handed, so he settled on grabbing a half full carton of orange juice and the filtered water pitcher. His arms were full when he walked out the back door again, stacked glassed and the juice shoved under one arm and the pitcher in the other. 

The glasses clinked heavily as he set them down on the steps. He was midway into pouring himself a glass of OJ when Timothy interrupted him. 

“Hey, check this out,” Timothy scooted over so that Vaughn could see Rhys. He could see that Tim was pointing to something the dryad’s was holding between his knees. On closer inspection, Vaughn found that it was the glass of flowers he had set out. He felt a bit embarrassed; already after a couple hours of sitting out in the sun they looked like they were beginning to wilt. 

Rhys took a yellow flower in his hand, one that was particularly dried. He held it to the front of his face and with a gentle exhale he he blew onto it. As the air coursed through the petals, they were reinvigorated with new life; the pigment in the plant’s veins brightened, the leaves and petals perking up with a freshness as if it was just picked. He reached up and tucked it behind Vaughn’s ear, smiling expectantly waiting for Vaughn to tell him what he thought of his little trick.

“W...whoa...” Vaughn pursed his lips and gulped. Was he under reacting? Overreacting? He didn’t know, but that was the single word he could muster in response. Either way his mouth felt dry, so he went back to pouring his juice. 

“Can I just have water?” Timothy reached over for the pitcher. As he turned his head, Vaughn could see that behind his ear was one of the purple flowers. He tilted his head more to show it off.

“Yeah, I got one too. It’s really cute.” He smiled at Rhys, grabbing the pitcher and pouring his glass of water.

“Mhmm...” Vaughn glanced over for a second, was more preoccupied with how Rhys was staring again in his direction. He raised his glass, Rhys’s eyes followed. He took a sip to see if that might deter him, but there wasn’t any sign of Rhys stopping—or even blinking. Just to make absolutely sure he was looking at the juice Vaughn took the glass and moved it in circles in front of his face. Watching Rhys’s eyes spin around, it definitely looked like he was fixated on the orange juice.

“Do you...” Vaughn stifled a laugh, “ Do you want some?” 

He tipped the glass toward Rhys which he more than eagerly grabbed for examination. Timothy, who had been watching this bizarre interaction for the last minute, quietly drank his water in his corner of the stairs now deeply invested in what Rhys was going to do next.

Rhys held up the glass to his eyes and sloshed it around. Twilight was settling in, the sky changing from orange to a gradient of purples and blues. The darkness didn’t seem to be an issue for the dryad though; the moonlight hitting his eyes made them glimmer with silver, look intently and wide-eyed as ever at the swirling liquid. 

“You, uh, gonna drink it?” Vaughn made a motion with his hand that that looked like he was tipping a cup to his mouth. 

Rhys’s gaze snapped back to him, mouth slightly agape. It occurred to Vaughn that he might not have ever seen orange juice before. 

Embarrassed that he had made such a show, put the rim of the glass to his lips and drank. Watching the juice hit his mouth, Rhys’s eyes widened. Soon he was gulping down the rest of the glass. He practically slammed the glass back down onto the steps and reached out to grab Vaughn by the wrists, pulling him in.

“Woah, woah!” Vaughn was inches from Rhys’s face. He was glowing in excitement, sparkles in his eyes. “You...you really liked that didn’t you?”

This was the first time Rhys had really touched him. His hands were cool and smooth against his wrists. Not in an unpleasant way but it wasn’t like another person’s skin, it was more akin to the texture of marble.

Rhys nodded vigorously, reaching back for the edge of the glass. His long fingers fumbled around trying to feverishly grab it and he shoved it into Vaughn’s chest.

Timothy laughed, “It is just basically sugar water isn’t it? I’m not surprised he likes it if he’s part plant.”

“I dunno man. This isn’t like, cannibalism is it?” Was that how it worked? Vaughn didn’t know if there was a plant equivalent to cannibalism. 

Rhys’s mouth downturned a little and he pulled the glass back slightly.

“Nah, I don’t think so. It’s mashed up fruit so I guess that would be like us eating a piece of meat, right?” he looked over to Rhys just to make sure.

Rhys squinted for a second thinking about it then decidedly nodded yes, he supposed it was fine. He still wanted more.

“Alright,” Vaughn chuckled and poured him another half glass, “Just make sure you don’t throw it back all at once, I don’t have that much left.” Shaking the carton, it sounded like it was nearly empty.

They stayed outside talking like this, about nothing, well into the night. It never felt mundane or boring at any point, though. Rhys made a surprisingly good conversation partner and Timothy wasn’t one to stop his mouth from running. It was nice, and Vaughn realized it was more company that he’d had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god I know this hasn't updated in a really long time, but I feel like I'm in a place where I want to finish this series. If you've been following this thank you for being patient, these boys have a very special place in my heart!


End file.
